Tweet This is an opinion post. In fact, this is an opinion blog. Unless I’m quoting Scripture you can dismiss everything I write as one person’s opinion. Mine. But this…
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This is a random post, but I was thinking recently about the “backside” of leadership. Here’s what I mean…
A great leader:
The longer I lead and manage people, the more I realize that the most important element in leading and managing people is….
Wait for it…
Have you forgotten that principle?
Leadership is about people. It’s relational. It depends on learning how to interact with people, how to encourage them, how to have healthy conflict, how to recruit them, and how to keep them informed.
You get the idea.
That’s not new information, but the problem is that every decision a leader makes impacts people. Some make the leader popular. Other decisions make the leader unpopular. Therefore, it’s easy for many leaders to become people-pleasers, trying to make sure everyone is happy. Other leaders go to another extreme and become a controlling leader; never allowing anyone input into the leader’s life or the decision making process.
One solution for me has been to do a stakeholder analysis of the situation. When I consider the person’s interest and power or influence in the organization, it can help the way I respond in making the decision, who’s involved in that process, and help us stay focussed towards the mission, while still valuing people.
This diagram shows a typical stakeholder analysis model:
Tweet As a pastor and leader, I am continually dealing with change. Everyday. Change is a part of life – for all of us. Some change occurs without us doing…
Tweet How’s this for a title? One principal for a better life? Really? Yea! Really. And, it is a very simple principle – one every leader knows, but one we…
Tweet What’s the greatest killer of momentum? We often think it is a lack of vision. But, you can have the greatest vision ever and still see motivation dwindle and…
Tweet I’ve often wished I could say something to every leader. Some things I’ve learned the hard way. I often share things leadership should do, but today I thought I’d…
Tweet With every team or organization I have led there have been people who get frustrated with someone else on the team. In full disclosure, sometimes others have been frustrated…
Tweet The title is confusing, isn’t it? It seems to assume some leaders worry and some don’t. The truth is, however, most leaders will have occasions of worry. Worry is…
I was talking with a 25 year old pastor recently. He is frustrated with his church. He was brought to the church because they wanted him to help the church grown again, but they see him as too young to make decisions on his own. They won’t take his suggestions. They consistently undermine his attempts to lead. They expect him to speak each week and visit the sick, but they won’t let him make any changes that he feels need to be made. It has made for a very miserable situation and he feels helpless to do anything about it. He’s ready to quit and the situation is negatively impacting every other area of his life.
It wasn’t the first time I have heard a story such as this. I hear it frequently from young leaders in churches and the business world. I didn’t want to be the one to tell him, but I didn’t want to mislead him either. The bottom line in this young pastor’s situation: